Average pair 'still old-fashioned'

Mr and Mrs Smith, the average two-car, non-smoking couple, are most likely to live in a three-bedroom detached house, called The Cottage, built around the turn of the 20th century, situated on the High Street, and nestled between their neighbours, Mr and Mrs Jones at Rose Cottage and Mr and Mrs Williams at The Bungalow.

The "Smiths" have one bathroom and usually holiday in Spain.

David Tyers, director of marketing at Aviva, said certain things had changed very little: "Who would have thought that in the days of loft extensions and exotic holiday destinations, the good, old-fashioned 'Cottage' would still be the most common house name, and that Spain would still top our holiday list?"

In a parallel survey, the average Brit was revealed to be an early riser – 50 per cent of them getting up for work between 6am and 7am, and commuting by car. Most tend not to pop out for air at lunchtime, with 27 per cent of office workers heading to a canteen or kitchen for a snack.

And while more than 20 per cent of professionals eat sandwiches at their desk, more than 7 per cent do not stop for lunch at all, according to the findings.

The findings also showed the conventional couple valued prized possessions at 28,000 and most insurance claims – 50 per cent – were for accidental damage, costing on average more than 350.

Women claimed marginally more often than men, roughly every 8.5 years as opposed to every nine, and most claims were for electronic equipment.